Round 1 - Referee Robert Madrigal oversees this featherweight fight. Crowd chants Guida's name as the fight opens. Guida bouncing quickly on the outside and leaping in and out with punches. Hioki switching stances and looking to utilize his length with crisp counter shots. Typical Guida work output, but he's not really finding a home for his shots. Meanwhile, Hioki has landed a few straight punches. Hioki defends a takedown and finds a few inside leg kicks before firing up high. Two minutes left, and Guida slips down and delivers a big takedown. Hioki looks for a potential triangle choke, but Guida shoves the legs off his shoulder and presses in as Hioki tries to scramble free. Hioki teases and transition to the back and instead controls from the front headlock. They break in the final minute and start to fire punches again. Round ends, and MMAjunkie.com leans toward Hioki, 10-9, in a close round.

Round 2 - Hioki lands some early shots but Guida swoops in and gets a slam takedown. Guida looks to improve position, but Hioki thwarts the attempts. Hioki looks for a kimura and locks the arm, but Guida remains patient from top position and eventually escapes. Guida works form full guard as Hioki works butterfly guard. Guida looks to improve position, but Hioki has him held tightly. Guida postures up for some elbows, but the damage is minimal, and the ref says he wants them to work. Hioki looks for an opening to escape, but the ref finally stands them. Hioki lands a front kick to the body and a jab, and he just misses with a big flush head kick, though it partially lands as the round ends. He didn't do much damage, but the top control earns Guida the round, 10-9.

Round 3 - Hioki opens the final frame in stalker mode as Guida bounces around and feints a takedown. After a moment, he gets his opening, wraps the hip and takes the fight to the mat. Hioki looks for a triangle choke and looks for a shoulder lock. He returns to the triangle and gets it tighter. Guida tries to stack and eventually wiggles his way out of the choke and back to full guard. Guida frees one leg and moves to half guard, but his ground and pound is largely checked. Hioki gets his back against the cage, but Guida clings to his hips to keep him from standing. The pace has slowed as Guida simply tries to thwart Hioki's standup. Guida grabs an ankle, which helps his cause. The ref finally calls for a standup with 35 seconds to go. Hioki misses with a head kick, and they trade punches with little behind them. Hioki stuffs a final takedown before the fight ends. It's another close round with Guida unable to do much from top position. However, with Hioki's offense stifled, it goes to Guida for a 10-9 round and 29-28 fight. But this could go either way due to the second round. Clay Guida def. Hatsu Hioki via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)